The Song’s the Thing at Celebration for Brett Young’s “In Case You Didn’t Know”

It turned out to be all about the song Monday afternoon (July 17) when a throng of music bizzers gathered at FGL House in downtown Nashville to toast the writers of Brett Young’s latest hit, “In Case You Didn’t Know.”

The writers — Young, Trent Tomlinson, Tyler Reeve and Kyle Schlienger — were all on hand for the festivities, but it was the song’s reassuring message and chart longevity that elicited most of the praise.

“In Case You Didn’t Know” held the No. 1 niche for two week on Billboard’s country airplay chart and was the first Billboard No. 1 for all four writers.

In a video chronicling the making of the song, shown before the No. 1 plaques were presented, Young predicted, “If we end up doing this right, it can be people’s wedding song for a long time.”

Music publisher Mike Molinar asserted, “It will be in the all-time pantheon of country love songs.”

“In Case” producer Dann Huff, who’s helmed dozens of other No. 1 singles, said, “This song makes me think of my wife, Sherri. We’ve been together since we were teens.”

Floating on a wistfully engaging melody, the lyrics purr, “Even though I don’t tell you all the time/You had my heart a long, long time ago/In case you didn’t know.”

The song was written in 2015 during a working trip to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, Young’s record label paid for.

“Could we have had more fun doing it?” Young asked rhetorically in recalling the trip’s payoff. “Nope.”

Scoring a No. 1 was the culmination of years of effort Tomlinson and Reeve, who have been members of BMI, the performance rights organization, for 20 and 10 years each, respectively.

And it was an equally big deal for Schlienger, who serves as Young’s music director and band leader. “That trip to Mexico changed my life completely,” he said.

The ever-whimsical Molinar praised the four songwriters for being able to express emotions that lesser mortals have but can’t put into words.

“If it weren’t for guys like you,” he said, “I couldn’t tell [my boss] Scott Borchetta how I feel about him.”